L’Infedelta delusa
RCS New Athenaeum Theatre Glasgow 29/1 25
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Riley Court-Wood conductor, Stephanie Wong, Qi Liu, sopranos, Haydn Cullen, Aidan Thomas Phillips, tenors, Fraser Robinson, baritone
Weblink: https://www.rcs.ac.uk/whats-on/linfedelta-delusa/
.The New Athenaeum Theatre in the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland was the venue on the night of 29th January for the third of four performances of a rare production of a Haydn opera, ‘L’infedeltà delusa’, featuring emerging talent from the Alexander Gibson Opera School, chiefly from their MMus programme. A good-sized Haydn orchestra with a harpsichord continuo supported five principals, all under the baton of Riley Court-Wood. The production was directed by Jamie Manton, designed by Pelyao Wang and lit by Charlie Morgan Jones. Movement direction was by Corina Würsch. The opera was sung in Italian with English surtitles.
A confession: I’ve always assumed that the rarity of productions of Haydn operas, notwithstanding the beauty of the music, was due to dramaturgical deficiencies. Of course, that is an assumption which, if shared by producers, leads to very few productions, all ‘scholarly’ and, as a result, irrepressibly dull. The challenge, therefore, is to visualise a setting where the delight and wit of the music is matched by the visuals and supported by engaging and skilful stagecraft. With the creative team on this production, that mission was accomplished in style.
‘L’infedeltà delusa’ could be translated as ‘Infidelity Deluded’, but ‘Duplicity Outwitted’ would probably be closer the mark in context. The plot is a classic operatic one. There are two romantic couples of mixed social class. Gardener Nanni and his master’s daughter Sandrina are in love. Nanni’s sister Vespina fancies the wealthy Nencio and he is receptive to her charms. However, Sandrina’s ambitious domineering father Filippo arranges an advantageous marriage with Nencio for her, throwing four love-lives into turmoil. But then, the resourceful and clever Vespina has a ‘cunning plan’. With the skilful use of disguises and subterfuge, she turns Filippo and Nencio against each other, and has each believing they are putting one over on the other while, in fact, the couples are being reunited and wed. When Filippo and Nencio realise they have been hoodwinked, it is too late; the deed is done, signed, sealed and delivered.
In this production, rural Tuscany is transplanted to a storage unit, where the characters are all abandoned soft automaton dolls with pre-programmed life scripts. The overture was a jolly major-key Allegro very much in the character of the first movement of an early Haydn symphony. Half-way through, the curtain raised partially and a cleaner’s legs were seen to dance as she worked (Mrs Doubtfire-style). A dodgy vacuum cleaner precipitated an electrical fault, resetting the personalities of the five characters and launching the ensuing farce. As the five dolls are unveiled, we learn of the (initially secret) arranged marriage, the brother and sister’s suspicions about that, and Sandrina’s dutiful obedience to her father, while steadfastly declaring her undying love for Nanni.
Hong Kong soprano Stephanie Wong, who had delivered fine performances in the RCS Opera Scenes last May (notably the Governess in Britten’s ‘Turn of the Screw’ and a troubled Sister Blanche in Poulenc’s ‘Dialogue des Carmélites’), was a resourceful and committed Vespina. It is a demandingly rich role with so many highlights. A gorgeous love aria about her being smitten by Cupid’s dart was set in ‘Vespina’s Fun Baking Set Kitchen’, a hilarious parody of a Barbie advert with a Play-Doh colour scheme. Duets with Nanni as they plot avenging Nencio’s betrayal and Filippo’s callousness were excellent. Nanni wears the (hilariously improbable) disguises while she ‘dubs’ the voices: a bogus abandoned wife (with family) to discredit Nencio in the eyes of Filippo (like von Ochs in ‘Rosenkavalier’); a supposed ‘servant posing as an aristocrat’ to make Nencio believe he is tricking Filippo into marrying his daughter off to a life of servitude. Another gem of an aria has her reflecting on the ingenuity of her plan: “I’ve spread the net and put out the bait, to catch more than one bird”. Beautifully sung. The final disguise was worn by herself, as the notary officiating at the wedding. Each character was vocalised differently. A super performance.
Chinese soprano Qi Liu (Helena and a cameo Emmie in Britten’s ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and ‘Albert Herring’ respectively in May, also a sweet light-hearted Sister Constance in ‘Dialogue des Carmélites’) was the sweet, gentle, obedient Sandrina. Under strict instructions from Filippo to reject Nanni, a lovely aria in a dolls’ house set termed ‘Sandrina’s Dream Home’ revealed her devotion to Nanni (while displaying the improbable results of her culinary skills in another Barbie parody). She dutifully spurns Nanni when he arrives, sending him into despair. She tries to persuade Nencio to redirect his affections back to Vespina, but he is adamant. Even before the nuptials (where, dolled up to the nines, she believes she is about to be be wed to a replacement aristocrat following the disgrace of Nencio) she sings resignedly “Luxury is a burden for a simple girl. I don’t seek anything but peace in my heart”, another sweet aria. As a naive uncomplicated soul who is the only character not practising some form of deception in the opera, Qi delivered another delightful characterisation. There were opportunities for her exquisite coloratura to shine again too.
Northern Irish tenor Haydn Cullen (a tormented Tom Rakewell in Stravinsky’s ‘The Rake’s Progress’ in May, as well as a starring role as the repressed eponymous Albert in the Shop Scene from Act 1 of ‘Albert Herring’) was the far-from-innocent but much-maligned Nencio. Before the ‘plan’ is hatched in Act 2 and his troubles really start, both Nanni and Vespina are out to get him, the former for (apparently) alienating the affections of his beloved, the latter for jilting her. An innocent triple-time Sicilienne aria praising the dutiful genuine simplicity of country girls over the fake cosmetic-enhanced allure of city girls was a gem and was beautifully delivered. His bewilderment at being unjustly framed as a wife-deserter and attempted bigamist almost aroused sympathy. His glee at the prospect (he is tricked into believing) of humiliating Filippo by the latter’s daughter being tricked into marrying a poor servant is less sympathetic, but his laughing aria was a comic Vaudeville highlight, dramatically and musically, of the evening. Haydn’s gift to Haydn. Still remembering it now as I type. Superb.
New Zealand/British tenor Aidan Thomas Phillips (an unforgettable vocal performance supporting another tenor with a chest infection acting in-role as Idomeneo in the RCS production last March) was the irascible domineering Filippo. Not perhaps a conventional melodramatic ‘baddie’, but it is his ambitious interfering ill-advised marriage-arranging that precipitates the chaotic farce. After dropping this bombshell and issuing strict instructions to Sandrina, his next big sequence is in Act 2 and it is a corker. A recitative and duet with Sandrina, scandalised at the false revelations of Nencio’s attempted bigamy; followed by a ranting aria of disapproval, in which he batters poor Nencio senseless: these were delivered stylishly as comic opera with full slapstick humour. Brilliant and another gift from composer Haydn.
Scottish baritone Fraser Robinson (Demetrius in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, a chillingly callous Nick in ‘The Rake’s Progress’, an amiable Sid in ‘Albert Herring’ and a cameo Harlequin in ‘Ariadne auf Naxos’) was a distraught Nanni. A ‘Sturm und drang’-style recitative and aria of self-pity and suicidal despair following the news of the arranged marriage was excellent, especially when its mood shifted to defiance and determination to turn the tables on the ‘old monster’ Filippo. In Act 2, as the ‘plan comes together’, his duets of admiration for his clever sister is tempered with worry that the ‘plan’ is overly complicated, but he plays his part with the disguises (hilarious, preposterous, spherical ‘masks’)and it all works out in the end. An engaging vocal and dramatic performance. I look forward to his Papageno in March.
Haydn’s music throughout is a delight. The Act 2 overture would not be out of place as a symphonic finale. As well as recitatives, arias and duets, there are some memorable quartets and quintets. Particularly fine were the quintets that concluded the two acts, the first of rage at the infuriatingly tangled farcical situation, the second in the “all’s well that ends well, so we’d better make the best of it”.
Another masterly RCS adaptation rehabilitating a forgotten masterpiece and fashioning from it an excellent crowd-pleasing vehicle for emerging talent. Full marks from me.